It was Richard Feynman who popularized the notion that “You are the easiest person for you to fool.” But what happens when the “yous” fooling themselves finally reach critical mass within a nation? Is that what exposes the entire culture as being fake?

Our culture today seems to be built upon fake foundations. The purveyors of fake get away with it, because the consumers of fake keep lining up at the door for another helping. Is our individual reality so miserable and wanting that only the fake can provide relief? Or are we measuring our lives by fake yardsticks?

Fake news – did it really originate with Dan Rather and the George Bush National Guard story? Who are the people and corporations that churn this stuff out? Why are they rewarded? Who does fake news benefit?

Fake social media posts – anybody can post anything. This takes fake to a whole new level. The only people actually hurt are the ones trying to live authentic lives, who are made to feel as if they “don’t have a life” when compared to their social media “friends.” Just what kind of a “friend” commitment is a single mouse-click? Even Fakebook’s premise, “free and it always will be,” is fake. They sell every bit of your life history they can glean to advertisers, app developers, government and for all we know hackers.

Hollywood, while it had the capacity and talent to produce real stories, instead landed firmly in the fake category. Perhaps when Hollywood itself gets washed away with all the fake competition, it will venture into the real.

Fake education – just keep passing them into the next grade. Who are we to judge? We’ve only got them for 12 years. Yeah, they are disruptive, but don’t let them drop out or we lose our funding! When they get to college, they will be someone else’s problem. Except they’re not. They are all our problems.

Fake marriages – until after the kids come along. Then it becomes a fake family and is too much work. Splitsville. Marriage is forever until I don’t like it anymore.

Fake consumerism – it’s called credit-card debt. You need to keep up with your neighbors and coworkers, and they need to keep up with you. After all, it works for the social media companies. It works for the banks, too.

Fake elections – brought about by fake voter registration, fake voters, fake candidates and yielding fake results. Fake candidates who say and do anything to be elected, then do whatever they damn please once in office. Maybe these people deserve fake protection from the people they pretend to represent.

Fake government – with a quarter of the federal government now shut down, the only people complaining are the ones not getting a paycheck. Are they the fake government, or just the shadow fake government?

Fake religion – “What would Jesus do?” But don’t read the historical documents – also known as the Bible – to find out! Just answer the question based on however you feel right now after we showed you these emotional images. As a byproduct of deciding, you get to become god (Jesus). The ultimate fake.

In fact, if I had to pick one area of “fake” that has been most damaging to our culture, it would have to be fake Christianity. Without the Death and Resurrection of Jesus and the history described in the book of Acts, real Christianity does not exist. Real Christianity depends upon the restored relationship between God and Man that existed in the Garden of Eden.

Real Christianity operates in the here and now, and continues on into eternity. Without that relationship, everything else is fake.